The Frank J. Remington Center's Public Defender Project is a clinical experience for second- and third-year law students. It consists of four distinct parts:
- a three-credit seminar which provides an in-depth understanding of the role of the public defender in the criminal justice system;
- a two-credit trial skills class to prepare students for the variety of tasks they will perform as interns certified under the Wisconsin supreme court student practice rules;
- a summer or school-year internship in a Wisconsin public defender's office. Summer students receive a stipend for their work jointly funded by the Remington Center and the State Public Defender's Office. School-year students receive a small stipend to help offset the cost of commuting; and
- a two-credit seminar devoted to reflection on the internship experience which satisfies the law school's professional responsibility graduation requirements.
For more information on the Public Defender Project, please contact Clinical Professor Michele LaVigne at (608) 262-9859; or email at mlavigne@wisc.edu.